Automated hydraulic, pneumatic and/or electric tire changing devices have been on the market for some time for changing tires of large diameter wheels found on passenger cars, trucks or larger vehicles. These relatively large, expensive, automatic tire changing devices are normally located in automotive or truck repair garages and/or specialty tire shops where there is a requirement for the frequent changing of tires off and on wheel rims.
The large automated tire changing devices are not suited or designed to change smaller diameter tires which are found on, for example, golf carts, trailers or wheelbarrows. In the past, these tire have been changed, usually by hand, and/or with homemade devices and customarily have been changed on the floor by holding down the tire with the operator's knees. The manual mounting and dismounting of small diameter tires on and off wheel rims in this manner is a time consuming, labourious and often a dangerous task. Tires having tight beads are especially susceptible to problems because on changing the tire on the rim, the operator may make a nick the tire bead or lip of the wheel with the resulting weakness causing the tire to explode on re-inflation. Furthermore, if the rim is not securely fastened down the explosion may cause serious injury to the operator.
Recently there has been an increase in vehicles with smaller diameter wheels such as golf carts, all terrain vehicles, trailers and wheelbarrows. However the volume of changing small diameter tires often does not justify installing expensive permanent equipment which takes up a lot of shop space. Therefore, devices have been brought onto the market which have tried to address the concerns and the problems encountered with changing small diameter tires.
For example prior art U.S. Pat. No. 5,332,020 by Brunner dated Jul. 26, 1994 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,193 by Badelt dated Jan. 7, 1992 are two devices which have tried to address the problems with changing small diameter tires. Both devices are manually operated tire stands which are adapted to clamp smaller diameter tires in a device for mounting and dismounting tires off and on wheel rims.
The Badelt device U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,193, uses a complicated set or adaptor plates in order to accommodate various rim configurations and bolt hole spacings within the wheel rim. This device can be used in conjunction with a large automated tire changer or can be bolted to a work bench. This prior art device can only accommodate a limited number of wheel rim configurations and wheel rim bolt patterns as defined by the adaptor plates which are shipped with the apparatus and also cannot easily be setup and taken down when not required unless used in conjunction with a large automated machine.
The Brunner device, U.S. Pat. No. 5,332,020 is permanently installed under the surface of a work bench and has a complicated mechanism for raising and lowering a threaded rod from below to above the work bench surface in order to bring the device into a useable position. Furthermore, in order to install the Brunner device, a permanent hole must be bored into the surface of a work bench which may interfere in subsequent use of the work bench. The Brunner device is designed to be used in the one location where it is permanently installed and cannot be easily removed, transported and relocated to other places within the shop or in the field for use there. The Brunner device also does not address the issue of bead breaking.
Accordingly there is a need for a tire changing device which addresses the above-mentioned problems, which is simply constructed and simple to operate and is safe and easy to use by an operator. As well, the device should take up little room, be easily put into a working position and stowed away for future use when small tires need to be changed. The device should be easily transportable and set up in other locations if required.